And so now when I drink, Iím going to drink to excess,
And when I smoke, I will smoke gaping holes in my chest,
And when I scream, I will scream until Iím gasping for breath,
And when I get sick, I will stay sick for the rest
Of my days peddling hate out the back of a Chevy Express,
Each one a fart in the face of your idea of success.
And if this be thy will, then fucking pass me the cup,
And Iím sorry, Dad, no, Iím not making this up.

That album floored me so hard when it leaked that I listened to it again immediately after finishing it. It's easily my favorite album of the year. I think I commented after their first album that they are the closest thing my generation is going to have to our version of the Replacements, and this album cemented that fact.

The Mats thing is exactly what I told my friend after listening to the first tracks off of the album. Titus Andronicus is one of the few current bands that I can listen to.

Album is amazing. I just started listening to it again the other day and I cant stop listening now. I forgot how great it was.

I really really want to see them live. I've heard very very good things about their live show. Their last tour didnt come here though and they havent been playing many festivals besides pitchfork and fyf fest it seems like

I've seen them at two fests and two club shows, and they've always been excellent. Their 2008 Pitchfork set was extraordinarily memorable, as they played one of the songs from the new one (the one where Your life is over!) during a pretty decent rain as Patrick ran around the stage flying this old school US flag:

It was so fucking badass, and not long after The Airing of Grievances came out. Andrew, Jeff and I also saw them open for No Age at the Troubadour, and Andrew and I saw them at the Bootleg on this tour. Fucking great live act.

Woh. Hold up the misery slog. I listened to The Monitor today. I had never heard a single song from these guys... and this album is fucking fantastic. It seriously struck all the right chords with me. I don't know why I waited so long to listen to these guy.

THE ENEMY IS EVERYWHERE!

Originally Posted by bmack86

And it's been long established that Chris hates fun.

Originally Posted by Hatinisbad

I took my niece this year and it was her first Coachella. It was so fun to see it through her eyes. She thought it felt like a magical scene from Shreck. The one where all the fairy tale creatures meet for the first time in Shreck's swamp.

I'm listening to the live album they were selling on the last tour and it's so damn killer. It should have been longer since it only has 6 songs, but the songs they play are all pretty damn killer. There's a cover of Roadrunner to close it out.

they played a really great show at the trunk space in early september. I was bummed to be back in phoenix bc i was going to miss fyf the next day and happily found they were playing this show the night before. i had casually enjoyed both the airing of grievances and the monitor but was pretty blown away by how intensely connected a lot of the crowd was to this band. definitely recommend checking them out. my only knock was that they kept playing for hours and i had stopped recognizing songs but then again its hard to fault a band for playing 2+ hours for a crowd of 100 past midnight in phoenix, az.

Trunk Space? That venue doesn't even hold 100! I'm so pissed I didn't start listening to this band sooner. As much as I will enjoy them if they do play Coachella, that's not going to make up for missing them play in such a tiny venue.

Woh. Hold up the misery slog. I listened to The Monitor today. I had never heard a single song from these guys... and this album is fucking fantastic. It seriously struck all the right chords with me. I don't know why I waited so long to listen to these guy.

THE ENEMY IS EVERYWHERE!

Welcome.

I had this daydream yesterday of them playing the Mojave around 4pm or so and the whole fucking tent singing "it's alright, the way that you live, it's alright the way that you live..". It would be such a beautiful thing. Maybe I should have posted that in the dorkiest thing thread.

I love your vision, Tom. I heard somewhere recently the someone talked to one of the guys in Titus and they said that they are playing. So, we are one step closer to making your daydream come true. I imagine it would also be quite fun to sing along to "You will always, be a loser. You will always be a loser...."

Also, the lyrics for the Battle of Hampton really get me. Holy shit.

Originally Posted by bmack86

And it's been long established that Chris hates fun.

Originally Posted by Hatinisbad

I took my niece this year and it was her first Coachella. It was so fun to see it through her eyes. She thought it felt like a magical scene from Shreck. The one where all the fairy tale creatures meet for the first time in Shreck's swamp.

And when I smoke I will smoke keep it in hold it in my chest
And when I scream I will scream until im gasping for breath
And when I get sick I will stay sick for the rest of my
Days peddling hate at the back of a chevy express
Each one will fly into the face of your idea of success
And if this be thy will then fuckin' pass me the cup
And im sorry dad, no I'm not making this up!

Originally Posted by bmack86

And it's been long established that Chris hates fun.

Originally Posted by Hatinisbad

I took my niece this year and it was her first Coachella. It was so fun to see it through her eyes. She thought it felt like a magical scene from Shreck. The one where all the fairy tale creatures meet for the first time in Shreck's swamp.

I have just today developed a new theory about this album. I am wary of reading meaning where there is none, but I suspect I might be somewhere near to something with this. If you all have already figured this out, go ahead and tell me I'm slow.

The Monitor starts out all punk rock and ends much more elaborate and expansive, we know that. Much (all?) of the album's theme is war and war is hell and the human condition and how we kill each other. Right?

So my theory is the song progression -- the programming -- on the album is meant to mimic the process from how wars get started to how they end. (this may be too literal a reading so forgive me that). Wars start because people are angry at each other. The Monitor starts with angry music in which the protagonist declares he is prepared to die for his cause ("I'm just looking for a new New Jersey / cuz tramps like us baby we were born to die"). and you know roughly the first third of the album is in this same vein.

but then it shifts tone, lyrically and musically. The lyrics become more self-doubting and the music becomes less angry and more expansive, more inclusive.

Fast forward to the end of the album -- great huge dramatic music, with a martial beat and bagpipes. And it struck me today, this is a soldier's funeral. This is Arlington cemetery music.

Now I know The Monitor is not as literally about war as I've described here .. a lot of it is analogy, using the civil war as a reference point for modern angst .. but still. I think this is part of the story.

and I'm really frustrated because I am so ineloquent about music I love so forgive me.